Is it unavoidable that, when I buy furniture, somebody else's interest is included in my price?

If you’re not on an extreme budget I say just go for it. What else can you do? You can shop on C’sList for second hand stuff, but, if you want something unique and of quality, well….I don’t think about the issues you have raised, if I want something and can afford it I just buy it.
My furniture is all from Pier One imports, a little pricier for some pieces but it was the look I wanted. You CAN ask about purchasing display models for a discount. I did this with a hide-a-bed loveseat and big ottoman with storage at Pier One. I got the unused display set for 10% off. I also bought my washer and dryer, Maytags, as the floor models for a hell of a deal. :-)

Try negotiating a little. Combine a couple of items and offer less than the listed price, or just ask if they’ll take a certain dollar figure for what you’re interested in. The least they can do is say no. I don’t remember the last time I paid the list price.

I’m confused. Who’s interest are you paying?

Also, you’re “paying lots of other people’s bills”?

If I have the cash I buy the item outright rather than entering into a credit agreement (even an interest-free one) and don’t give it another thought. If I don’t have the cash but want/need the item and can afford the monthly repayments, I take the one year interest free with gratitude that it exists.

I think there’s more to worry about in life than the fact that you’re comfortably off and don’t need to enter into longer term agreements – even though you are making it possible for others to enter the agreement. Heck, you could even take pleasure in the fact that your ability to pay in full now helps others less comfortably off to also purchase items.

If you live in Texas & are anywhere close to the Dallas / Ft. Worth area, you might try a furniture place called “The Dump”. This is a furniture place that buys the inventories of high-end furniture galleries & offers these pieces for sale to the public at steeply discounted prices. It is an excellent place to find quality pieces of furniture & appliances.

Interest rates are so low now it is almost pointless to worry about it. When they were high I would take the interest free offer and put a note on my calendar one or two months before the due date and pay it off in full.
If you are even 1 day past the due date they can slap you with the full interest (usual a rip off rate) so be careful.

Will you pay my bills if I ask nicely? Please? and Thank you!

@tom_g
Nobody is giving away money for a year or more without interest.The retailer is paying interest in borrowed money or they are paying a fee to the company that is collecting the extended payments-they have to pay the manufacturer within 30 days, not a year or more, or they have been holding inventory which costs them money.

A shopper who pays for furniture over, say, a year with no interest is paying the interest someplace. It is clearly hidden in the price. Fair enough. But if I pay the same price, and I pay today, without extending over time, then I am paying the hidden interest cost, even though I am not using the money over time. That means the retailer is getting just a little bit extra on my purchase, since there is no fee paid to the debt collector, or interest on their purchase from manufacturer. The point is there is no such thing as free money. Money paid over time carries interest. So my question is as stated. If I pay “up front” my cost should be lower than the people who take a year or more to pay the money back. But it isn’t, unless I haggle, and that works sometimes, but often enough it does not in the furniture store.
Just wondering since I am not an experienced furniture buyer.

@josie – I’m more confused. So, if I own a business and want to attract more customers by offering a “One year same as cash” deal, some of my customers are suddenly going to be pissed off because they feel that they are now owed something additional? What if I have made my own calculation and feel that eating this money is good for my business in the long run?

What exactly does this have to do with you, who has decided to not take the offer? Are you under the impression that for it not for my offer I made to bring in more customers, I would just hand you over some discount? I don’t get it.

So, why exactly are you paying the additional costs on these deals rather than the retailer? And who’s bills are you paying again?

^^ whose (not “who’s” – I’m stupid. Not once, but twice in this conversation.)

@tom_g
I get this feeling you are more interested in getting into my shit than you are on giving advice as an experienced furniture shopper.
Plus, if you are confused that is not my problem and I can’t help you.
I was just curious if experienced furniture shoppers had advice about where and how to shop to the extent I might get around the issue in the question. Certainly haggling is one and that is not a problem for me. Just wondered if there were legit places that might pass on the savings on the cost of money to cash customers. Online maybe? An outlet somewhere that might be fun to make a trip out of it? Stuff like that.
Here’s your GA. I like some of the other answers better though.

Sorry. Didn’t read this as a “I need shopping advice” question. I thought it was an “I am entitled to something” rant that I couldn’t quite follow.

Anyway, our big furniture stores seem completely immune to haggling attempts. Or I’m just awful at haggling. Good luck.

Also, can you retract the GAs? The “who’s” is unacceptable. Plus, maybe I was being a bit of a jerk :)

I don’t recall ever being able to haggle with furniture dealers the way you can with car dealers. You might be able to get them to price match on something comparable.

At lots of places you are “paying” for others 0% interest if you pay full price up front but we found frequently if you don’t take the 0% you can negotiate (assuming a discount isn’t already advertised, which was pretty common, idk if it still is). And if you get the price discount fixed first, we found some places weren’t willing to say no if we demanded the 0% as long as we took a lesser spread of months. I think a lot of that might have to do with how much you’re spending; that $350 factory fabric couch probably not, that $5,300 custom leather couch – certainly sir, when would you like that delivered. If you have the time and inclination it’s also worthwhile to track the prices of pieces you’re interested in and see how they change over time and when they offer different “events”. We saved quite a bit shopping slowly. If worse comes to worse, just take the piece at 0% for X months and invest the money you’d have otherwise spent up front.

I’d suggest buying the key pieces and then having fun searching for interesting, complementary, artwork, other pieces, lamps, etc. at out of the way places and on C’sList.
A nice compromise. Buy some new and some used, and have fun treasure hunting. I found the coolest vintage Italian gold metal tulip lamp on C’sList, along with an amazing asian table, several solid wood shinto screens and a mind blowing chinese urn.
I also found my pride and joy, an authentic Buddhist temple gong carved out of black stained Teak wood with crazy little carved monks on top, all on C’sList and various furniture consignment places.

Look up furniture consignment stores in your area for filler pieces.
When I was more active in my staging and design work I always found amazing items via both these sources. :-)

Since you mentioned the possibility of making a trip out of it, most major furniture manufacturers are located in North Carolina (not quite sure why, but it’s always been that way).

Lots of people come from major distances to do their furniture shopping there as the discounts are significant. I have no idea where you’re located or whether this is even feasible for you but figured it did no harm to mention it.

For starters, you can try this website and I’m sure there are others as well and perhaps info from Chambers of Commerce in that area.

www.highpointfurniture.com

If it works the same way as here, the credit companies pay a rebate or bonus to the company (and sales people) if they negotiate a credit deal (even interest free) with buyers. I assume they (the credit company) know many people who sign up for these deals will take longer than the 12 months (or whatever time limit) to pay the item off and will then be hit with very high interest rates.

So, the reason the company can sell things cheaper to those buying on credit, is because the credit company is subsidising the price. Consequently, cash is not so appealing to retailers doing these deals.